The Gospel Call To Repent

 Matthew 3:2  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 4: 17;  "From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”



The word 'repent' has all but disappeared from the modern church's lexicon. And when it is used, what it means to truly repent fails to be adequately explained. Often it is defined as nothing more than behavior modification which I will explain more later.

On the first Pentecost after Jesus ascended back to the Father, Peter preached a sermon that can be summed up in one sentence, 'Jesus the Nazarene was the Messiah and you killed him.' When the people heard the message we are told that they were 'cut to the heart' and said;

"Men and brethren, what shall we do?"  (Acts 2: 37)

The first word out of Peter's mouth was, 'REPENT!'

He did not issue an altar call or ask for a show of hands of those who wanted to ask Jesus into their hearts and ask them to 'repeat after me.' In fact, the altar call and 'sinners prayer' are found nowhere in the New Testament nor are they found throughout most of church history.

The first call to action the gospel gives is to 'REPENT!'

As Voddie Baucham said, the gospel requires two things of us, "repentance and faith." The gospel does not tell us to ask Jesus into our hearts, although the indwelling of the Holy Spirit accomplishes that. But look at the full response Peter gave to the crowd:

"And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' "
Acts 2: 38

The Holy Spirit comes when we repent.

What is repentance?

One of the definitions Webster's gives for repent is; 'to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life.'

Essentially it means to change one's mind. often we make the mistake of believing repentance is behavior modification.

For example:
"I quit drinking alcohol."
"I used to sleep in on Sunday morning but now I go to church."
"I quit smoking."

The problem is behavior modification may change your actions but it doesn't change your heart, or your nature. You can change your behaviors and still be absolutely hateful in your heart. Jesus explained this in the Sermon on The Mount:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire."

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

(Matthew 5: 21-22, 27-28)

From these two commandments from the Old Covenant He showed us that while it may be possible to refrain from committing the actual acts of sin, it doesn't change the sinful nature.

True repentance is complete surrender to God and coming under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Paul describes it as 'putting to death the old man." (Romans 6: 6; Colosians 3: 5)

Jesus said in Matthew 16:24;

"Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.' "

The way of the cross is one of repentance. It is a complete repudiation of our old way of life and surrendering to the lordship of Christ in all things.

One thing it is not:  It is not an emotional feeling or response.

If we don't repent?

Years ago I listened to a recording of a sermon delivered by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones. While I can't remember the main subject of his sermon I remember this one sentence:

"The gospel has but one message for the unrepentant sinner -- Judgment awaits."

Jesus said something very similar in Luke 13:1-5;

"There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, 'Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.' "

This is not the message typically preached in most churches today. Generally the gospel message today centers around what Jesus can do for you. But it doesn't address our greatest need which is to be saved from eternal judgment.
Our greatest need is NOT to be delivered from addiction, broken relationships or financial problems. Our greatest need is to be saved from the judgment that our sins deserve. Gospel messages that focus on our desires or immediate needs are not true gospels. Jesus actually warned against that in Mark 8:36;

"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?"

You may get free from addiction; you may get your marriage back or relationships with your grown children restored; you may get the dream job that allows you to get completely out of debt. But what good will it do when you die if you didn't have your sins forgiven?

If you don't repent, you aren't saved. There is only eternal judgment waiting.

A word to pastors

One of the mistakes many good pastors make today is assuming that every one in their congregation is saved. The fact is, many in churches today responded to an unbliblical gospel message so it is very likely that many in churches today are not saved.

Often messages center around encouraging words like, 'God has won your battle,' 'He is for you, not against you,' He has a wonderful plan for your life,' etc. The promises of God that apply to those he has redeemed don't apply to those who have not truly repented. But pastors often preach to their congregation as if the promises do apply without making the distinction between the repentant and unrepentant. It is imperative that preaching is always centered on the gospel and the gospel call to repent. The gospel message will convict those who are being saved. It will condemn those who are not being saved.

So what must we do?

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" (2 Corinthians 13:5)

The Christian life is one of self-examination. We should always be measuring ourselves against the truth contained in God's word and striving to become more like Jesus Christ. Another way of saying it is that the Christian life is one of repentance.

I am not suggesting the possibility that someone can lose their salvation. If you are truly saved then you are saved for all eternity. What I am saying is that if you haven't repented than you might believe you are saved when you really aren't.
Earlier I mentioned Voddie Baucham's statement about the gospel requiring two things from us; repentance and faith.

"...repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15)

While the gospel requires repentence and faith, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit produces obedience.

 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)

Sanctification is a lifelong process that will not be completed in our lifetime. We will not achieve perfection before we die.
But if your life is not characterized by surrendered obedience and growing in Christlikeness, then it is a very real possibility that you are not saved.

So what if, after careful examination you realize that you haven't repented? If you are still alive then there is still time. It is not too late:

"Repent and believe the gospel." 

And you will be saved.